Daily Archives: March 9, 2017

So far, you gotta admit, Georgia’s athletic director is having a great 2017 in the eyes of the fan base. Hell, the last two weeks, full of griping in the aftermath of what should have been a triumphant announcement about the Sanford west end capital project, and the fire he was forced to put out with the basketball team just before the start of the SEC Tournament by allowing himself to be backed into a corner in assuring one and all that Fox would return next season, have been pure awesomeness in that regard.

For instance, check out the love the AJ-C gathered in reaction to McGarity’s assertion that Georgia essentially doesn’t have the resources to keep up with Alabama. There’s also this post there giving the visual story that it ain’t just Alabama McGarity’s struggling to match. Some of the natives are clearly restless, a fact that even he hasn’t ignored.

And yet, does any of it really matter?

I think back through all of McGarity’s greatest hits of the past few years — the completely inept way the Gurley suspension was handled with the NCAA and the team, the PR gaffs that were the interviews with Mark Bradley, letting himself be shown up by Pruitt about the IPF, all the BS surrounding the process that led to Richt’s dismissal, then, in the aftermath, the PR embarrassments of the joint presser with Richt and the move to keep the players from speaking to the media, all the way up to the present missteps — and marvel that he moves from one triumph to another effortlessly.

Give him credit. He’s apparently making the right people happy. Maybe it’s time to start shining a light on those folks and their goals for Georgia athletics. I’m sure they’d be as thrilled with the attention as McGarity no doubt is. Just sayin’.

A federal judge in Indiana on Tuesday dealt a significant blow to a lawsuit that has been seeking to challenge the NCAA’s rules that prevent some Division I football players from transferring to other schools without losing a season of athletics eligibility.

The case is being pursued primarily by Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP on behalf of Peter Deppe, a punter who had planned to transfer from Northern Illinois to Iowa in 2015. The suit alleges that Iowa accepted Deppe academically but that Iowa’s athletics department declined to pursue a waiver that would have allowed Deppe to become eligible immediately and the NCAA would not consider a waiver request from Deppe. The suit alleges that Iowa then turned its attention toward another punter who would be eligible immediately without a waiver.

It wasn’t a broad ruling in favor of the NCAA, but it was a win.

However, at issue in Tuesday’s ruling was the NCAA’s bid for dismissal of the part of Deppe’s case pertaining to the so-called “year-in-residence” rule, which generally requires football players who transfer to sit out a year and their new school.

The lawyers for Deppe argued that this constitutes “an unreasonable restraint on trade,” and this violates antitrust laws.

As she did in Pugh’s case, U.S. District Judge Tanya Walton Pratt sided with the NCAA. Citing a prior ruling by the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and other precedents, Pratt ruled that since the NCAA transfer rule is an eligibility rule connected to education — as opposed to a restraint on trade — it does not violate antitrust law.

Interesting reasoning, since a player going from FBS to FCS doesn’t have to deal with the “year-in-residence” rule. Does that mean every FBS school is a tougher academic environment than any FCS school? Eh, who knows.

The SEC East was terrible in 2016. Florida backed into the division championship only after Tennessee choked it away. Some metrics rated the division the worst in major college football and barely better than the top American Athletic Conference division.

Obviously, it’s been a fall from grace for the division with the departure of several notable coaches, including Urban Meyer, Gary Pinkel and Mark Richt. However, that means the division is wide open for the taking.

“I think [Will Muschamp]‘s going to turn [South Carolina] around and they’re going to be a competitor in the SEC East,” former Florida defensive tackle Caleb Brantley said.

Muschamp, of course, was coached Florida from 2011 to 2014. He recruited most of the players involved in Jim McElwain’s back-to-back SEC East championship teams. However, Florida unceremoniously sacked Muschamp after a 6-5 season. Three of his four seasons were underwhelming.

However, 2016 was perhaps his most impressive coaching job. Despite having a severely under-talented roster, South Carolina went 6-7 and qualified for a bowl game. That included a shocking 24-21 win over No. 18 Tennessee and upset over Vanderbilt in the opener.

… but damn, that last sentence is more than Georgia was capable of last year. Time to step it up, Kirby.

Quote Of The Day

“Give them credit, but I think everybody can see that Georgia’s going to be a force to be reckoned with. I’m very proud of this team and this university, and we’re not going anywhere.’ — Kirby Smart, AJ-C, 1/9/18